Madonna's Record Label Lays Off Staffers

While Madonna prepares to bring her “Drowned World Tour” to North America, her record label has reportedly jettisoned a half-dozen staffers.

Daily Variety reported in its Friday edition that the president of Maverick Records had resigned while five other staffers were axed.

The label, whose top acts include Canadian pop singer Alanis Morissette and hard rock band the Deftones, blamed deteriorating market conditions, the trade paper said.

Label president Bill Bennett, who had been with Maverick for only two years, will not be replaced, Daily Variety said. It was not clear how many people are employed at Maverick.

Madonna runs Maverick as a joint-venture with Warner Bros. Records, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc. The media giant reported on Wednesday that second-quarter revenues at its far-flung music businesses fell 11 percent to $895 million from a year earlier and cash flow plunged 33 percent to $87 million.

Morissette, whose 1995 album “Jagged Little Pill” sold millions of copies worldwide, was unable to emulate sales with her two follow-up albums and reportedly wanted to leave the label earlier this year until Madonna persuaded her to stay.

Madonna begins the North American leg of her tour on Saturday in Philadelphia. It wraps on Sept. 14 after four dates in Los Angeles.